Goodbye Aruba!

Already Saturday and time to go home.  It's amazing how fast time flies when you're having fun. To make the most out of the last few hours in Aruba, I woke up early this morning.  I walked along the beach and went to grab one last geocache hidden by a fellow Wisconsin geocacher.  I'm glad I went back to grab it as I hadn't realized we walked by this same spot two other times.  I contemplated on going back to the lighthouse to grab the cache that I had missed there, but after checking my watch I decided it was probably best if I just turned around and headed back.

After breakfast and packing it was time to head to the airport.  It is not a long drive (maybe 20 minutes), but you do have to be there three hours before your flight.  I can certainly see why you need the three hours as you have to process through Aruba Customs and US Customs.  It was nice to take care of Customs and Immigration in Aruba so when we landed back in Chicago it was just a simple manner of picking up our luggage and getting our ride home.  The terminal was packed and we soon learned that our flight was delayed two hours.  Good thing we didn't have any connections to make.  We were finally in the air and back home.  Our limo driver was waiting for us and we were soon back in the cold air of winter.

This has been an excellent vacation and would go back to Aruba in a heartbeat.  I can see why Aruba is called "One Happy Island".

Jolly Pirates

I can hardly believe it's already Friday.  The week has gone by so fast. After breakfast I parked my butt by the pool and continued to read my book. At 1:00 we headed to the Jolly Pirate ship.

The excursion consisted of going to two different spots for snorkeling and a third stop to swing off a rope swing.  The first snorkeling stop was at the sunken ship Antilla.  The water was a little deeper and didn't have the clearest view of the ship or fish.  At the second stop we swam in much shallower water and saw some pretty fish.  At each stop we had approximately 20 minutes to snorkel.  We were also allowed to jump off the side of the ship . . .or walk the plank as it were.  At the final stop there was a rope swing that we could swing and jump into the water.  Tom particularly liked this and tried to do a back flip.  He came close, but ended in a dive.  I didn't even try the flip.  The kids really enjoyed jumping off the ship.  We got back at 5:00 and Tom and I sat on the beach waiting for the sunset.  We missed photographing some excellent sunsets earlier in the week.  As we waited, I finished my book!

After watching the sunset we got ready for dinner and headed back to the Mexican restaurant.  I had the chicken fajitas and once again was super happy with my meal.  We roamed around a bit after dinner and not finding anything exciting going on we headed back to the room where we watched the Pat Tillman story.  Tomorrow we head back home.  This has been an excellent vacation. I would highly recommend Aruba!

4x4 Excursion!

Today was our excursion to the other side of the island in two-seater all terrain vehicles!  We were picked up at 8:30 and drove to Philip's Animal Garden where the excursion began.  The tour started with walking through the zoo.  We learned that they were an animal rescue and all of the animals were rescued from individuals who had the animals as pets and no longer wanted them, from a zoo on Aruba that had shut down, and from other places in the Caribbean.  They gave us carrots and food pellets to feed the animals.  We saw donkeys, cows, llama, monkeys, birds of all types, snakes (ewww), kangaroo, tortoises, geese, ostrich, camels, and probably a few others I can't remember.  It was neat that we were able to feed them and I think the kids enjoyed it.

Then it was time to start the real part of the adventure.  Tom drove our vehicle and our first stop was at a chapel.  I remembered a little too late to dig out my phone to check for geocaches.  There was one about 250 feet from the parking lot, but I didn't have enough time to wonder off to get it.  I kept my phone on the ready though for future stops!  We drove along dirt paths in the country side and really got to experience the Aruban countryside.

The next stop was at Baby Bridge which is a natural rock bridge.  This was another spectacular view where we took a few pictures.  We stopped at ruins of an old gold mining building.  Laurie and I diverted off to find the cache and then explored the ruins.  The next stop was the ruins of the Natural Bridge.  This was another larger version of Baby Bridge, however in 2005 it collapsed.  Although Aruba is out of the hurricane belt and doesn't actually get hurricanes, the hurricane in 2005 that really pounded Florida, caused huge waves in Aruba.  Scientists think the pounding of the huge waves cause the bridge to crack and the eventual collapsing.  It collapsed in the middle of the night when nobody was around so thankfully nobody was hurt.  There was a restaurant at the site and it was the restaurant owner who came to work the next day that first discovered the collapse.  Laurie, the kids and I took Aunt Kathy along to find the nearby geocache.  It was an easy find that could be spotted from the path.  Back on the road and up the hillside we went really enjoying all of the views.

The last stop was at the Natural Pool.  This is ocean water that is trapped in by rocks causing a natural calm pool with ocean waves pounding in around it.  We made the trek down and over some slippery rocks and got in.  It was a little crowded with the people from other tours, but nice to cool off and get some of the dirt off.  Tom, Laurie, and the kids jumped from a rock into the pool and they also did a little bit of snorkeling.  After the Natural Pool it was back into the vehicles for the ride back to the animal sanctuary.  Our guide, AB, was really great and the vehicles we were given to drive were just a few weeks old and operated smoothly. All in all this was an excellent excursion.

We got back to the hotel around 2:00.  After lunch I spent the rest of the afternoon reading my book on the beach.  Just 100 or so pages to go!  Dinner was at the Italian restaurant of the resort.  I had a smoked cheese soup, seafood pasta appetizer, and shrimp dinner.  It was good, but so far I walked away from the Mexican restaurant feeling most filled and satisfied with the food.  I think for our last night dinner that we might go back to it.  After dinner, Tom and I headed across the street to do some souvenir and jewelry shopping.  I had mentioned to Tom that I didn't have any "real" necklaces as everything I own is costume jewelry. We visited several stores and went back to the first one we went in to get the second necklace I tried on.  I now own a "real" necklace.

I can't believe tomorrow is our last full day in Aruba.  The week has gone by so fast.  The plan is to relax in the morning and go on the Jolly Pirate ship in the afternoon to sail and snorkel.

Currier-Sobczyk Excursion Company

Wednesday's adventure started with a search for mountain bikes.  Laurie called the place we had walked to the day before, but they said they didn't have any available to rent.  We walked to a sales stand at the hotel next door that we had seen the day before when out and about, and they called a few other places to see if anybody had bikes.  One of the suppliers was not answering the phone, so we opted to go to breakfast and wait to see if they would call us back with bikes.  We began talking about alternative possibilities to get us to the Hooiberg Mountain, such as taking a taxi or renting a car.  At breakfast we got the call the bikes were available, but we abandoned the bike idea and went for a rental car instead.Pete and Tom walked across the street to the rental car place and got a jeep.

Our adventure started with Hooiberg.  With a lot of side roads and Tom navigating with the map from the rental car company, we thought getting there should be no problem.  Finding street signs proved to be difficult so it was hard to find where we actually were on the map.  Eventually we made it.  Thank goodness we didn't try to get there on bikes!  Over 500 steps up and we had a marvelous view of the entire island.  In addition, Laurie, Vince, Ryan, and I set out to find the geocache that was on the top.  The GPS was off a bit but we were able to make the find!  Back down the mountain we went.

Our next planned destination was to Baby Beach on the southern tip of the island.  Along the way I kept an eye on geocaches to see if we could nab and nearby ones.  Unfortunately the geocaching app did not provide us with a detailed map as it normally does when I'm using it with web access at home (which could have been useful in getting us to our destinations and to the caches).  I found a cache we were getting relatively close to and used the compass to navigate us there.  With a few wrong turns down some dead end streets we found it.  The location was a beautiful lagoon where the water was magnificent colors of blue.  Alissa found the cache and after a couple of photos (which ended up not turning out because the camera was on the wrong setting) we were on our way to find Baby Beach.

Along the way we stopped at another cache at a memorial for men at sea.  I quickly found the cache and we were able to get a group photo in front of the anchor.  Back on the road to Baby Beach!  We made it to the beach where the kids swam for a bit and we walked to the far end of the beach where we found a restaurant that was themed from the Flinstones.
We had burgers that weren't all that great, but nice to sit down and take a break.  After lunch we were back on the road to find some caves that the rental car company mentioned.  We drove in the direction that we thought and headed for some off roading.  Circling a couple of times and stopping to ask a local coconut salesman at the end of the road for directions (thanks Vince for translating for us), we still never quite found them.  I think we were on the right path, but time was running out as we needed to get back to the resort to get ready for our 7:00 dinner reservations.  We made it back with just enough time to be showered and ready for dinner.

Dinner was at the Caribbean themed restaurant of the resort.  Tom and I had the surf and turf dinner that consisted of a steak, piece of shrimp, and tiny scallops. It was ok, but really enjoyed sitting outside for the meal.  The temperature and breeze was just right.  After dinner we had a drink and was off to bed!

Tubing & Geocaching

Tuesday was another day without any scheduled activities.  We started the morning late after having slept in.  I wish I could say these beds were as great as ours at home, but unfortunately it's not even close.  After breakfast I walked with Pete and Laurie to find out information on renting bikes.  We are thinking we would like to bike to the nearby dormant volcano, Hooisberg.  The walk took us down the beach to to the end of all the hotels.  We found for $25/day they would drop the bikes off at our hotel. After Tom's and my last bike experience in the Bahamas (where we used some free hotel bikes, and Tom's bike tire was mostly flat and then the chain came off) he is a little leery of trying bikes again. We saw some bikes parked outside the trailer in which they were operating and asked if those were the bikes.  Thankfully she said no, and said they keep theirs stored in their facility to protect them from the sand and salt water.  We liked the sound of that already.  With no commitments made, we headed back to the resort.

As we came back upon our beach we saw Vince, Alissa, and Ryan with Uncle Tommy getting ready to go on their tubing ride.  Tom strapped our GoPro to Vince and off they went for their 20 minute ride while Uncle Tommy rode along in the boat to take pictures.  We watched from the shore and saw the kids getting whipped around and flying out a couple of times.  When they got back they said it was awesome!!  We weren't sure if the GoPro was on and recording, so we waited until we got back to the room much later in the evening to see the results.  I was happy to see that it recorded the beginning 6 minutes of the ride.  So fun to listen to the kids screaming and laughing.  The GoPro must have got bumped along the way because it did stop recording and took some pictures too.  The pictures didn't turn out as great, but happy to have the video.

After lunch I took Alissa and Vince and we went to find a couple of nearby geocaches.  Once again I'm impressed with Aruba in the fact that we could walk out the hotel doors and feel completely safe walking the sidewalks to the geocaches.  The caches were an easy find and nice walk.  When we got back Ryan was disappointed that he didn't get to go, so we decided to head back out the opposite direction to get another.  Ella wanted to go along on the adventure too, so we waited for her to put on shorts and sneakers.  Well all that waiting made Ryan change his mind and wanted to go swimming instead, so Pete, Laurie, Ella, and I headed out to find another geocache .7 miles away. When I was researching geocaches before we came I noticed there was a cache close to our hotel placed by a geocacher from Wisconsin who I am familiar with.  This was her cache that we were set out to find.  As we got close to ground zero it was Laurie who made the find!  Still can't believe all the way in Aruba we were looking for a cache by WisJanine.  By the time we got back from our walk it was dinner time.  I can't believe how fast the day flew.  I never even sat in a beach chair all day!

For dinner we went to the Mexican restaurant in the hotel.  We found the food to be quite good and enjoyed our mixed fajitas of chicken and steak.  After lounging in the lobby listening to some music for a bit, it was back up to the room to finish our game of Phase 10.  Alissa ultimately won by getting Phase 10 first. It had creeped past 11:00pm again so off to bed it was.  We didn't secure our bikes for Wednesday, so that will be the first priority of the morning.  If the bikes don't work out, I anticipate another lazy day of reading and sun.

Lazy Monday

Monday in Aruba and we had no big plans.  We slept in after the disappointing Packer game and I did not even think about going for a walk or run.  My legs weren't too sore, but I thought I would give them a break.  My goal for the day was to do a lot of reading.  I had received the first Jack Reacher book a while ago and I even took it with me all the way to Djibouti, but didn't get a chance to read it.  I sat and read on the beach for a couple of hours and eventually wondered up in a nice quiet spot on the roof top above the beach restaurant and read for a couple of more hours.  I got about half way through the book.

There was a welcome party for vacation club members that we caught the tail end of.  Aunt Janet and Uncle Dave won massages for a dance competition and Heather won a couple's massage in a raffle.  Maybe we should have gotten their earlier!  After was a bbq on the beach.  The food was ok and the show that started after it was not overly exciting.  Pete, Laurie, Tom and I wondered back up to the suite.  The balcony actually overlooked the bbq and show so we could watch from there.  As it had become somewhat boring, we opted to play Farkle instead, but left the patio doors open to listen.  At the end of the party another raffle was held and Alissa won a dinner for one at Senor Frogs.  When the rest of the gang came back upstairs we played Phased 10 . . . well we aren't quite done yet.  That game takes forever and at 11:30 we were all feeling tired and decided to suspend the game until tomorrow.  Tuesday holds no big plans either.  On Wednesday or Friday we will go on a Pirate's ship excursion to sail, snorkel, and swing off the side of the ship.  On Thursday we are taking an ATV tour around the island.  Plenty of time for me to walk to some nearby geocaches . . I hope!

Aruba!!

ARUBA!!!  Our vacation 2015 has finally arrived.  After booking this in February 2014 and a long winter last year and an already super cold start to 2015, we are so happy to finally be in Aruba. Flying directly out of Chicago proved to be a good choice with no worries of missing connections.  The only downside of leaving out of Chicago with an 8:25a.m. flight was the 2:30 wake-up so that we could get to Tom and Linda's house for our ride to O'Hare. Linda found an excellent deal from a limo company out of Racine.  We had a giant stretch limo that just barely fit our 14 passengers and luggage.  Although a limo sounds fancy and luxurious, we found the seats to be a little uncomfortable and lack of heat near the floor left our feet begging for the warmth and sand of Aruba.

On Saturday we arrived and drove through a bit of town to get to our resort.  The island does not have the same poverty feel that other islands we have been to.  We went by where the cruise ships dock and could definitely tell that part of town was built for them.  Lots and lots of upscale shopping and some chain restaurants.  Our resort is several miles away from this area.  When we got to the resort we found check-in and received our room assignments on the 9th floor.  This is the top floor and reserved for First Club vacation members.  We are so thankful that Pete and Laurie have this vacation club that we're allowed to be a part of.  Our room is conjoined with Pete and Laurie's enormous suite overlooking the ocean.  Tom and Linda's room conjoin on the other side.  Our room is like a standard hotel room with two queen (maybe feels a little bit smaller, but not as small as a double bed) beds.  Pete and Laurie's room has a huge living room with full kitchen. All of them have great ocean views.

Saturday night as we were getting ready to say our good nights for the evening, when Pete and Laurie mentioned they were going for a walk in the morning at 7:00 . . . to the lighthouse.  I read about the California Lighthouse and knew it was on the North side of the island.  I wasn't sure how far it was exactly, but they thought it was about 4 miles one-way.  My first thought that it sounded crazy, but come 6:30a.m. on Sunday morning I was all in.  Our walk started along the nice sidewalk/boardwalk that connects all the hotels to each other. When the hotels ended we moved up to the road and walked along the road.  We started noticing a lot of people walking the other direction and thought a lot of people sure did get out and exercise here.  We soon realized they were part of a local 5K that was fundraising for a tennis club. When we got close enough to the lighthouse to see the landscape around it, Aunt Janet said she had gone far enough. Pete, Laurie, and I were committed to go the whole way.  It was 3.75 miles to the lighthouse!

From the lighthouse we saw some off road tracks down to the beach.  The water look relatively close so we decided to check it out.  .3 miles later and we were looking at some beautiful scenery.  Two and a half hours and 8.6 miles later we were back at the resort.  My legs felt a little sore and I was quite thirsty, but loved the adventure out.  The only downfall of the trip was that I took my phone to do some geocaching along the way, as I knew there was one at the lighthouse.  Unfortunately I didn't find out until we started walking that I couldn't access the caches because they were stored on-line (I had thought I saved them to the phone), so I could not do any geocaching.  On the upside, I knew I could remedy this as soon as I had access to WIFI.

The afternoon was spent lounging by the pool and playing in the ocean.  At 3:00 we headed over to the Holiday Inn where we had heard they had a sports book in their casino so we could place bets on the Packers/Seattle game.  Tom Sr and Uncle Dave went with the Packers (8.5 spread) and Tom went against our team with Seattle in the hopes that if they loss, he still might be happy winning the bet.  We found a great bar on the beach that was filled with other Packer fans to watch the game.  The game started out great.  We couldn't believe the Packer's were winning.  Of course it all came crashing down and Tom didn't even win his bet because Seattle had only beaten us by 6. Even though our team lost, it was still a lot of fun to be able to watch the game in Aruba.  Of course it would have been 10 times more fun if they had won.  Oh well maybe next year.  At least we have the sun and beach to look forward to tomorrow.